The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
Figure of a Pair
late 1800s–early 1900s
(most likely)
Overall: 145 x 26.8 x 23.3 cm (57 1/16 x 10 9/16 x 9 3/16 in.)
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
There are no other carved mother-child figures that originate from the Monzombo ethnic group.Description
The Ubangi region's history of successive migrations and assimilations has resulted in numerous exchanges of religious beliefs and ritual practices. Despite some stylistic traits, including the heart-shaped faces and the male's crested coiffure, this figure with its female pair is unlike any other in the Ubangian corpus. Based on indirect evidence, the pair is said to represent the culture's primordial couple.- ?-1914French missionary, before 1914, collected from Ubangi region?-1961(Unidentified art dealer, Nice, FR, 1961, sold to Paul Elsas)1961-1962Paul Elsas [1896-1981], Saint-Paul de Vence, FR, 1962, sold to René and Odette Delenne1962-2010René [1901-1998] and Odette Delenne [1925-2012], Brussels, BE, 2010, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art2010The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010
- Grootaers, Jan-Lodewijk, ed. Ubangi. Art et cultures au Coeur de l'Afrique, fig. I.4. Exh. Cat. Brussels: Fonds Mercator, in association with Afrika Museum, October 13, 2007-March 31, 2008. p. 18Petridis, Constantine, et al. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2013, 27, 88, 92-93. p. 27, 88-89, 114
- Fragments of the Invisible: The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014).
- {{cite web|title=Figure of a Pair|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s–early 1900s|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.460.2